EU Commissioner Hahn: Ukraine has to get to grips with corruption / Photo from europa.eu

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn announced this at a press at a Bertelsmann Stiftung event entitled "How to help Ukraine's Economy Reform and Grow" in Brussels on April 15.

"We are ready to identify EU specialists to advise on the implementation of the new legislation, and on the training of a new generation of judges and lawyers," he said.

Hahn also stressed the need for Ukraine to fight corruption. "Above all, if Ukraine wants an investment-led recovery and to send a clear signal to its friends, it has to get to grips with corruption. Corruption must be punished, but more important still, it must be prevented and a new professional culture of openness and transparency created," he said.

Видео дня

Hahn believes that a better future for Ukraine can only be achieved through bold and urgent change. "But as in all such cases, it is above all Ukraine itself that must find the will and the courage to reform and reinvent itself," he said.

"I have always asked myself why Ukraine is not more like Poland, or other Eastern European nations. We know that in 1991, Ukraine and Poland had a similar GDP per head.  Now Polish GDP per head is three times higher than in Ukraine. Change in Poland required political will and tough choices, and cooperation between political parties, Government and Parliament. It required technical capacity and teams able to work over sustained periods on seeing work through.   It required wide support throughout society," he said.